IRsweep has developed a mid-infrared spectrometer combining fast measurement speed with large signal to noise ratio and a wide spectral coverage. The instrument’s key feature is the simultaneous acquisition of hundreds of wavelengths in an optical bandwidth of more than 100 cm<sup>-1</sup>. All spectral elements are measured in parallel with a time resolution of 1 microsecond. This development opens the door to single shot time-resolved mid-infrared spectroscopy.<br/>The dual-comb system has been reengineered from the bottom. The instrument consists of a fully integrated optical assembly which has been optimized for little interference from the environment. Stable and low-noise comb driving has been addressed in the separate electronics. Now, the system reaches a signal-to-noise level of 2 permille at an integration time of only 1 microsecond as is shown in Figure 1.<br/>An important advantage of dual-comb spectroscopy compared to FTIR or tunable-laser spectroscopy systems is the parallel nature of the signal acquisition. The absorption signal is acquired on all emitted wavelengths of the frequency comb simultaneously. Figure 2 a) shows a time-resolved broadband mid-infrared measurement of a polypropylene sheet mounted on an optical chopper entering the measurement beam path of the dual-comb spectrometer. Figure 2 b) shows the time evolution of a single emission line of the dual-comb system. In our presentation, we review the latest scientific and system progress on the underlying dual-comb QCL spectroscopy platform and present single-shot microsecond time resolved spectral measurements.

Single-shot microsecond mid-infrared spectroscopy with quantum cascade laser frequency combs

254th National Meeting (2017)

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